It demonstrates the negative impact this self-deception has on our lives, but also shows a way out of this state, benefiting both our private and professional lives. There was a part of this right near the end of the ‘book’ where the authors say ‘Don’t use the vocabulary—“the box,” and so on—with people who don’t already know it’ - and I thought, ‘oh yeah.

This is because the more people are out of the box at a workplace, the more a culture of responsibility will emerge, instead of a culture where people blame each other. Equip your leaders to achieve new levels of emotional and situational awareness to reduce the people friction that impedes results. It doesn't matter what management technique you use—managing by walking around, practicing active listening, or showing interest by asking personal questions. There is lots in this book about treating others as people, and of taking personal responsibility for the things that happen in your life. Self-deception—our tendency to see the world around us in a distorted way—is a common personal and organizational problem.

Others sense how you really feel about them and respond in ways that may be the opposite of what you want.

Help leaders increase retention and morale though the application of conflict resolution, relationship building, and communication tools. This all hides what might be considered the ‘systematic’ problems that might underlie issues in the workplace.

To keep this up, you must simply keep honoring that first instinct you have to help and be kind to others. As you can see, self-deception is like a virulent infection that is passed along to others through contact.

Also, don't worry about whether others are helping you enough, instead worry about whether you are helping others enough.In an instant, you conjure up a reality where your inaction is wholly justified: They need to pull their share of the responsibilities and take out the trash more often. More than anything else, it embarrasses me that the moral of the story, as far as I can tell, is that businesspeople need to remember to treat other people like humans, with respect and care. Be it in your private life or at work, the feeling of dealing with someone on a basis of mutual respect is a positive and inspiring one, and also a key to success. Equip leaders with tools to create a culture of accountability that drives significant and sustained growth.

I want to see myself as I really am and I want to openly see those I love as they really are: as people (not objects) with thoughts and feelings and desires just like I have and which are just as valid as my own. And while it is really nice that the employer is going to think of me as a person, and not just a cog, it might also be nice if I had a living wage and, yeah, maybe some meaningful work too.When people are self-deceived, they’re not focused on results and others; they’re focused on self-justification.